An international conference worth every cent
April, 2019. AIESEC in Tartu was having the monthly “all hands on deck” meeting and our VP of Human Resources Silver Sten Kruus brought up interesting opportunities coming up soon. One of them was TWIN 2019.
I’d heard the name in passing from some of our oldest members who’d participated in previous years. They had only good things to say about it, but I was skeptical. Still, I made a mental note of the application deadline despite that.
Two days before the application deadline I casually filled out the form by my morning coffee. I did an application video in which I’m applying my makeup before going out for the day and just rambling about why I feel I’d make a good delegate. I still wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to go.
About a week later I received an email from the amazing Mehdi Mornagui, from the organising committee. I was in! I was over the moon. Organising my flights and transfers was a daunting task which I kept postponing for over a month. In the end it was actually easier than expected, and I could spend an awesome afternoon in Berlin as well. I had to cover these costs myself but to be fair the experiences and the people were worth every cent.
The conference took place in Karlsruhe, in southern Germany. The hosting AIESEC office was so heartwarming and I immediately felt at home with them — they have the most amazing AIESEC spirit there, and it was exactly what I needed after the end of the semester. We had around 20 delegates from 9 countries, with a range of AIESEC experience from a few months to several years. The spirit of the conference was strong and we had so much to learn from one another.
The theme of the conference was future cities. With all the delegates from different cities, this really brought our attention to the real pressing issues in each part of the world. Big cities like Dubai and Tokyo have tough problems you normally never hear about and this is exactly the reason why what we’re doing in AIESEC is so important.
Big cities like Dubai and Tokyo have tough problems you normally never hear about and this is exactly the reason why what we’re doing in AIESEC is so important.
We introduced the problems to each other and also came up with solutions on how to improve, based on examples of good case practices from around the world.
In addition to workshops and sessions with our trainers, we had presentations by the city planning department of Karlsruhe and Martin Scherrer from Siemens, which were both immensely interesting in the context of this conference theme. Visits to different cities like Heidelberg and Strasbourg widened our horizons — these are some breathtakingly beautiful and unique cities, with their own, fun quirks. Not to mention Karlsruhe itself, I am absolutely in LOVE with it.
Unfortunately, due to my earlier return, I missed the Global Village event, where delegates from each country share some of their local treats and culture. We spent the most exciting week together and we’ll most definitely be in touch in the future!
We spent the most exciting week together and we’ll most definitely be in touch in the future!
Dear reader. Listen. If you ever join AIESEC, make sure you apply to TWIN if you’ve never done an international conference before. Apply if you’re having a hard time with your motivation. Apply even if you’re not quite sure what the theme actually means. You will learn it all along the way and it will surprise you in the most unexpected ways.
Helerin Jaanhold
